Living with what Life gives
by dmstags72
Summary: Thrust into a new universe after events out of her control, Midori must work along side Shepard to fulfill a debt, and do what is right by her own code of beliefs. Making friends and enemies along side her new ward, she wonders if she will ever return home (mostly follows story line with own events and some changes.)
1. Chapter 1 : New Arrivals

**Foreword**

This story will follow the story line mostly, with some differences. It will follow the point of view most of the time of a woman by the name of Jo Midori, a warrior from another universe that through a unfortunate turn of events, winds up in the ME universe. Midori (Jo being her last name, following traditional Japanese naming) is a original character of mine from a board I used to write on. As time goes on in the story more will be revealed about her!

Thanks for reading! I welcome any and all feedback from anyone, and if anyone wants a hand in writing, please send me a pm and I'll get to answering anything I can.

On with the show!

"Datenshi, Midori! Get moving now! You two need to get on the ship before we can get out of here!"

A growl came over the headset before a annoyed voice chirped into the bridge of the ship.

"It's kinda hard to outrun a FUCKING BLACK HOLE!"

"It doesn't matter, move it both of you!"

It sucked, but there they were, two pilots fighting against the gravitational pull of a black hole. Their suits wouldn't last forever, and with the FTL capabilities gone because of the subspace missiles breaking down their suit's systems, they were stuck in a fight with a black hole. The two pilots struggled with all they had, pushing themselves to the limit of their suits, before the one in the back had a brilliant idea, at least for the lead suit.

Opening the missile pods on the leg of her suit, the read pilot opened fire into the back of the suit in front of her. With mere yards separating the two, the explosion of countermeasure missiles was perfect, rocketing the lead suit forward with just enough speed to escape. The downside? The explosion went both ways.

The blinding light of the explosion made the pilot wince in pain as her leg was thrown backwards, twisting her body and pushing her back, further into the hole. All momentum lost, her chances of escape quickly evaporated as she was flung off to the chorus of shouts coming over her suit's intercoms, all calling out her name as her body was stretched and torn into the hole. In the blink of a eye, the suit was gone, it's pilot...gone...

"Normandy this is ground team! We need medical evac immediately, Shepard is down I repeat Shepard is down!"

Pandora Shepard lay prone on the ground, the visions ripping through her mind with a vicious intensity, threatening her sanity with the metallic screeches and images of death and destruction, of organs exposed to the air, and of twisted abominations running free. She had seen those abominations today, but as the vision intensified she blissfully passed out, unable to remain conscious as a voice replied to the two marines at her side.

"Copy Alenko, sending evac down now. We have-..." The comm cut out, the voice in shock as the Normandy picked something up on sensors. A figure, humanoid in apperance came rocketing down to the surface of Eden Prime, and as it made contact, the line blared back to Life in Kaidan's helmet.

"Lieutenant Alenko, you have a new objective. Recover whatever just landed."

"But sir! We need to get out of here and re-" Kaidan started before he was cut off.

"Recover the object. We don't know if this is tied to it or not, but we won't know until we recover. Once Shepard is aboard, move out to the navpoint I sent you, and take Chief Williams with you. Anderson out."

The line went dead as Kaidan looked to Ashley, who gave him a nod as she heard the orders already. As the shuttle came down to pick Shepard up, Kaidan and Ashley were already on the move headed toward whatever had crashed onto the planet.

The pilot let out a screech of pain that seemed to drag on as she was hurtled through the black hole. Oddly though, it seemed to end. Thrown from darkness into a sudden bright environment, the pilot realized a moment later that she was in a atmosphere, hurtling to the ground. Hitting her suits systems to try and come back online a few times, she was read various error messages and damage reports, most notably to the power generator on the back.

Twisting and flipping, never sure which side was up in between the flashes of green and blue, she was finally able to slow herself down a little she was able to right herself just a little, enough to get bearings for all the good it did her. As she laid eyes on land, she saw just how close it was and seconds before impact she was able to curl into a ball to protect herself. It wasn't a moment to soon as she impacted the ground hard, knocking her out instantly.

Alenko and Williams were on the impact sight in around a half an hour, fighting light resistance from the odd abominations and what Williams was calling Geth. Shuffling down into the hole a little they were both shocked to say the least at what they saw. It was robotic looking in nature, covered completely in metal from head to toe and supporting a gun beside it. Williams instantly brought he rifle to bear, aiming right for the creature, but Alenko stopped her from firing.

"Stand down, we have orders to retrieve, not destroy."

"But that's a Geth, just like all the rest! We need to destroy it or it might wake up!" Williams retorted.

"Look at it, it looks nothing like the others." Alenko replied. He was right as he dragged the body out. Roughly humanoid in shape, it had oddly formed...ears on the top of the head, the face blank and passive save for two mock eyes. The rest of the body looked much the same save for scorch marks and pitting in the metal, as if the being had been in a huge fight. The legs had compartments on the thighs, one of which was still wide open and empty.

Eventually with some grumbling, Williams helped Alenko drag the body out and called for a evac, even as Williams began to tie the body up with rope. When on the Normandy she would switch to chains, though neither marines knew just what was inside...

_End chapter 1_

**Prologue**

Woo finally started writing! If anyone has any questions or reviews, please send them! This may have been a bit shorter of a chapter, just becuase of it being a intro chapter, but I plan to eventually have longer chapters start forming as more and more characters join.

Next chapter we get to the reveal of the pilot, and the first face to face meeting with Pandora Shepard, along with some interactions and explanations, and even a little confusion!


	2. Chapter 2 : Introductions and Oaths

Chapter 2 : Introductions and Oaths.

Foreward: Just want to give everyone whos already following a big thanks and ill be putting into effect the suggestions in the reviews. This chapter is as it is called, a introduction to the pilot, and a chance for her to start her journey home.

On with the show!

* * *

The visions ripped through her head with painful intensity, tearing at the edges of her sanity. Over and over images of synthetics crashing from the skies, tearing entire cities apart with vengance, destroying entire civilizations. Abominations and experiments that would make even the most depraved get sick, the images began to get more and more intense as they focused on two figures, one cradling the other with their head skyward in anguish. Just before the faces came into focus, she awoke.

Bolting upright with a pained groan, Shepard clutched her head, the voices in the room acting like a chisel to split her head in two. She could hear the smooth British accent of doctor Chakwas and the dark thick voice of captain Anderson. They seemed to be having a disscusion about Shepard, and from the sound of it, it was heated.

"I can't believe you would think to put her in this position after she awakens! Her brain activity has been off the roof and we have no idea what is going on with her. For all we know she co-"

"Your concerns are noted doctor, but I need Shepard on this. It's important, and it might help to build a case for what happened on Eden Prime." Countered Anderson, cutting Chakwas off mid sentence. Looking over to the two who had yet to notice her, Shepard spoke up.

"Glad to know my opinion doesn't matter here..." Shepard said in a chiding tone as the two in the medbay turned on the woman with a shocked expression. The two spoke at the same time.

"Shepard!" They said in unison, both filled with shock as they stepped over to her bed, a cool professional look on Chakwas' face, and a look of concern on Anderson's.

"How are you feeling? Any lingering pain?" Chakwas asked, that British accent sending a shiver up Shepard's spine as she just shrugged.

"Feels like a bunch of Krogans decided to line dance in my head, but otherwise no." Shepard just shrugged again as Chakwas moved off to gather some asprin and water. As she did, Anderson spoke to her.

"Pan.." Shepard just winced as she heard Anderson use her nick name, letting out a tired sigh as she drooped her head, peering up at him through her red hair.

"We found something after you were knocked out. It looks synthetic in nature, but we aren't sure as it looks far to different then the others on Eden Prime, the Geth as Chief Williams proclaimed. I want you to take a look at it. Both Williams and Alenko are down in the hold with it."

Pan shook her head, taking the asprin and downing it with the water before she shuffled off the bed, standing up and wobbling for a second. Her vision blurred for a moment as she suffered a head rush, shutting her eyes tight before she let out another tired sigh.

"Alright, I'll go take a look..." And after composing herself, Shepard exited the Medbay, heading down to the hold.

* * *

Her head was killing her, her chest, legs, arms... well it was safe to say everything hurt. The position she was placed in certainly didn't help out much at all either. Letting out a groan she thought to shift around a little but found it impossible, hearing the muffled sounds of chains shifting. She never heard the guns unfolding, drawing on her head from outside her helmet, never saw the pistols that were trained on her by expert hands. She was blisfully unaware that there was no one outside the little private world she found herself in.

But that reverie would soon be broken by the muffled sound of a door opening, then voices. It was hard to make out the conversation, but there were two...No three voices outside. Doing her best to listen in on the conversation she soon realised the foolishness in the idea and after a moment of thinking on it, she began to shuffle around, trying to get to her helmet's releases. After a moment or two of struggling, fingers just brushing along the seal, she felt it click and his softly as the atmosphere in her suit lost pressure, and frsh air came flooding into her lungs. Looking up, she was shocked to see what she did.

A olive complexion framed by red hair in a pixie cut style with tired green eyes, the look would be what the pilot would come to know as Italian. A few nicks and cuts here and there along her face, neck and ears, it was easy to see that she had been through some fights in her time. Trained eyes searched her over, gauging for a threat to see if there was before feeling convinced, standing up right. While not overly tall, a little under six foot, the woamn certainly did strike a imposing figure. The woman before her stood, putting the helmet under her armpit and cocking her hips to the side as she spoke slowly, as if the speed of her speech would some how make it easier for her to comprehend.

"Hello, my name is Pa-" She started to say before being interrupted.

"I understand english Nep, why am I being held captive? Where is your captain I want to sp-" Midori's voice was full of anger as she struggled a little against her restraints, testing their strength out as she glared at the woman who put a hand up to stop her speech.

"Woah woah woah just calm down there...What's a Nep, and do you have cat ears...?" Shepard's tone took a inqusitive turn as she finally looked over what she could see of the pilot before her.

A slightly tanned complexion oddly enough accented the white hair that fell straight down her neck to just past her shoulders. Bangs resting just above her blood red eyes, she had three scars on her right cheek that resembled claw marks, and the ears on the top of her head, by far the weirdest part of her, were white as well with a small tuft of fur on the tips.

"I know you have seen a Nekovalkyrja before Nep, do not insult me and play dumb." The pilot shot back to the confused stares of all three. It was the man that spoke up first.

"Neko-what?" Kaidan asked, the confusion painted across his face as he looked to Ashley who could only give a half hearted shrug before she asked her own question.

"What's a Nep? Is that like a insult or something? Not a smart thing to do in your current situation..." She said aloud, her tone and the smirk on her face mocking until Shepard turned to give her a look.

"A Nepleslian is you, what you are. Though there are far to many women around to be a Nepleslian ship..." Now it was the pilot's turn to be confused before she asked.

"How far from Yamatai are we?"

"Yamatai...?" Shepard asked before looking to the two Marines in the room with her, both of whom just shrugged a little. Turning back to the pilot she just shook her head a little.

"Sounds like you're a long way from home, why don't we start with names? I'm Commander Pandora Shepard. This is Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, and Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. You're currently aboard the SSV Normandy. You're name?"

The pilot sighed, looking down at her knees before speaking up. Her tone was indifferent now.

"Ketsurui Samurai Jo Midori." Was all she offered, forgetting no one here knew who the Ketsurui were. Luckily Ashley spoke up.

"Kestusuri?" She asked, butchering the name as Midori's head snapped up, glaring at the woman a little.

"Ketsurui. They are the ruling family, or were, of the Yamatian Star Empire. I am a Samurai for the Ketsurui royalty, and for high ranking important officers in the army. My last assignment was protection of Ketsurui Hanako-Hime, before..."

"Yea just what happened? I mean we found you on the planet in this...suit thing?" Shepard asked as she looked for confirmation from Ashley. Getting a nod she just looked back to Midori just as she spoke.

"May I get out of this, get dressed?" To which she got a nod, Shepard flicking her head to Midori as she looked at Kaidan. He was a few moments undoing the chains and restraints, but eventually she was free and standing. Shorter then the others in the room, Midori stood at a short five foot three, barely coming up to the chin of a few in the room. As she stretched a little a faint hissing and a snap came from the suit she wore, before it seemed to split a bit and open up. The body of the suit going rigid to allow her to climb out, Midori seemed to hover up into the air for a moment, a slick sucking noise heard as she extracted herself. Much to the embarrassment of all in the room save for Midori, she was unfortunately nude.

"Kaidan!" Shepard shouted, causing the man to go red in the face as he suddenly snapped his head up and away from the woman's body, spinning his body around quickly to give her some semblance of modesty. Ashley didn't turn, but instead focused her eyes on the floor just at Midori's feet, Shepard however, took everything in.

A well toned body with no extra fat, she wasn't a model, but there was a battle hardened beauty to Midori. Ample chest and smooth skin over tight muscles, Shepard eyed what looked like a tattoo under her right breast which seemed to be a bar code or marker. She watched as the alien went to the side of her suit and a hatch. Popped open, revealing a compartment inside.

Midori pulled from the compartment a set of clothing. Long red pants that billowed out a little at the bottom called a _hakama_ and a top that looked like a shortened bathrobe, otherwise known as a _Yukata_, Midori wrapped her chest first in a bandage tightly, making sure it was secured and making Shepard guess what looked like a C cup go down to a low B, high A cup. A pair of socks that seemed to have a protective bottom on them, and a _obi_ around her waist, she clicked open a compartment and pulled out one other item.

A lacquer black finished sheath, Midori pulled out a sword that Shepard saw to be a Katana, a golden hilt that wrapped around the handle where it met the blade. A red blue and black grip with cloth twisted around it slid into place at her hip, and after a moment of straightening everything out, Midori turned back to the three assembled her wrist draped over her grip and gaze looking indifferent. Where she had looked a little intimidating in the suit, dressed as she was now even with just a sword at her hip, she looked down right deadly.

"I suppose I have you three to thank for my life." Midori said to the three assembled to a chorus of nodded heads before she continued.

"Then my life is yours until you feel it is repaid. My hand is yours, my life yours, your commands my actions."

"You really do-" Shepard started before being cut off.

"As a samurai, my code dictates I must. I must repay what has been given to me."

A sigh escaped her lips as Shepard just nodded and shrugged. "Sure why not... just got the strangest feeling that you won't be the only one..." Shepard gave Midori a wry smirk and another shrug before nodding to the doorway.

"Shall I give you a tour then?"

"Lead the way ma'am." Midori said as the group left the room, weapons holstered and tensions diffused.

It was going to be a long trip...

End chapter 2

* * *

Prologue:

Woo chapter 2 done! Midori is out of the suit and introduced, as is Shepard! Shepard has a lot to learn about Midori, just as she does about everything else here!

For those confused, Midori's name is done in the traditional Japanese way, meaning Jo is her last name, and Midori her first. She speaks both Japanese and English, so there will be some Japanese titles thrown in like -Hime, which means princess in Japanese.

Again, thanks for reading and I appreciate any reviews as they help make me a better writer! Thanks!

- See you next time space cowboy.


End file.
